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Blake Fell is a hill in
the Western part of the English Lake District and is the highest point
of the Loweswater Fells, an area of low grassy hills with steep sides
overlooking the lake of Loweswater.
The fell also overlooks the
village of Loweswater from which it can be climbed. An alternative route
is from the Cogra Moss reservoir on its western slopes.
Because
the Loweswater Fells are a separate geographical unit, Blake Fell is a
Marilyn and is located in the Parish of Lamplugh.
The Western Fells occupy a triangular sector of the Lake District
bordered by the River Cocker to the north east and Wasdale to the south
east.
Westwards the hills diminish toward the coastal plain of
Cumberland.
At the central hub of the high country are Great
Gable and its satellites, while two principal ridges fan out on either
flank of Ennerdale. The western fells in effect being a great horseshoe
around this long wild valley. Blake Fell and the other Loweswater Fells
form the extremity of the northern arm.
The Loweswater Fells have
been compared to the digits of a hand, radiating out south westward from
the "palm" centred on Loweswater village. From the west these are
Burnbank Fell, Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb and Mellbreak, the
"thumb".
Blake Fell is the highest hill in this group, the summit
area being a long ridge running southwest along the "finger".
This begins above the shore of Loweswater, rising steeply through the
mixed forestry of Holme Wood to the craggy height of Loweswater End.
Atop the rise is Carling Knott (1,784 ft), the north eastern summit.
The ridge then dips slightly, the landscape changing from rock outcrop
to grass, before the final ascent to Blake Fell.
A transverse
ridge now connects northwards to Burnbank Fell, in truth an outlier of
Blake Fell, but given separate status by Alfred Wainwright in his
influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells.
Southward is
the narrow grassy col of Fothergill Head, providing a much more tenuous
link to Gavel Fell.
The western slopes are heavily wooded with
conifers and contoured by forest roads.
In addition to Carling
Knott, Blake Fell has a number of other subsidiary tops. Descending
south west from the summit are High Pen (1,558 ft), Low Pen (1,427 ft),
Godworth (1,197 ft) and Kelton Fell (1,020 ft).
Beyond lie the
Croasdale road and the West Cumberland plain.
Standing aloof from
these tops, but still within Blake Fell's orbit, is Knock Murton (1,467 ft).
This is a steep sided fell, forested on the western flank and with
sufficient prominence that it is only barely excluded from the list of
Marilyns in its own right.
Blake Fell also extends a western
ridge over the prominent top of Sharp Knott (1,581 ft) and the wooded
High Howes (1,027 ft), falling gently to the village of Lamplugh. These
tops are recognised in some guidebooks.
Drainage from
the western slopes flows via Sharp Knott Gill and Fother Gill to Cogra
Moss. This is a reservoir sitting in the deep valley between Blake Fell
and Knock Murton, a reed rimmed waterbody held back by a substantial dam
at the western end. Also known as Arlecdon Reservoir, it has a depth of
around 30 feet.
The waters from this flank of the fell join the
River Marron and ultimately the Derwent.
The eastern face of
Blake Fell flows either to Loweswater or to its outfall, ensuring that
all of the drainage eventually runs to the River Derwent.
The
summit is a grassy dome decorated with a large cairn, the meeting point
of paths from the various ridges.
Westwards there is no higher
ground to interrupt the sea view and to the east is a fine array of
hills stretching from Binsey in the north to Grike in the south.
The North Western Fells across Crummock Water are particularly fine,
although much better seen from Loweswater End.
The ascent from
Loweswater village follows a direct line up Carling Knott, or a more
southerly approach made via High Nook Beck.
From the west,
Lamplugh or Felldyke provide good access, lying at either end of a
network of footpaths. These connect to the track alongside Cogra Moss
which can be used to gain the high ground via Low Pen.
Knock
Murton can also be ascended from the head of the reservoir.
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